Improvement in printing-press es



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J. C. KNEELAND, OF TROY, NEW YORK.

JMPROVEMENT lNPRlNTlNG-PRESS ES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 3,917, dated February20, 1845.

To LZZ whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, J. C. KNEELAND, of the city of Troy, in the countyof Rensselaer and State of New York, have made certain new and usefulImprovements in the Manner of Constructing a Prin ting-Press; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full and eX- act descriptionthereof.

In my press, as represented in the drawings accompanying thisspecification, I place the form vertically; but it may, if preferred, beplaced horizontally by arranging the togglejoint and the other partsconcerned in giving the impression in such manner as to operate in thatposition, my improvement not relating to that part of the apparatus bywhich the platen, the frisket, the inking apparatus, and their immediateappendages are operated, or in which they are arranged, these beingsimilar to such as are well known, but consisting, principally, in anovel arrangement of the apparatus for gripping the sheet which isplaced on the feeding-board, and for carrying it into the properposition for and holding it while it is receiving the impression.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of my press,and Fig. 2 an elevation of its fore end, or that at which the impressionis taken and the sheet fed and delivered.

A is the driving-shaft, having on it a iiywheel B at one end and apinion C at the other, which pinion gears into a wheel D on the maincam-shaft, said shaft having on it a cam that operates the progressivelevers or toggle-joint E E, which act upon a vertical platen F, andanother cam that acts upon a lever G, that gives motion to theinking-roller frame.

H is the feeding-board, and I one of the grippers by which the sheet iscarried to the form. These grippers are attached to two endless belts orchains `J J, there being one such belt or chain passing around each endof the three rollers K K K.

The apparatus for giving motion to the platen, to the inking-rollers,and their appendages, is similar to such as has been previously knownand used, and does not, therefore, require to be particularly described.

L is a wheel which gives motion to the belts or chains J J, that carrythe grippers, of which I have said there are three. This number,however, may be increased, provided there be a corresponding change inthe parts with which they areconnected, as in the wheel I., which, asrepresented, is arranged for three grippers. The wheel L revolves on anindependent shaft and gears into a pinion M on the shaft of the rollerK. Upon the wheel L there are three pins a a a, that project from itsface, and by the aid of these pins and of a sliding catch this wheel isto be carried round one-third of a revolution after an impression hasbeen made; but it is to be held at rest during the time that the form isbeing inked andwhileitisgiving theimpression. Themoving of this wheel iseffected by means of the sliding catch N N. This catch has a slot b b init, which embraces a pin or stud Z2 on the axis of the wheel D, on whichpin it slides back and forth. It also passes through a slot in a guidepiece c,and is borne up by aspring d, which causes it to latch on one ofthe pins a. The sliding catch is moved back and forth by means of a camO O, attached to the Wheel D, this cam operating on friction-rollers onthe inside of the sliding catch in the position shown by the dottedlines e e. During the `time that the catch is being carried forward anduntil the impression is completed, the cam O being then out of action,the wheel Lis kept stationary by means of the tumbling catch P, whichfalls upon and holds one of the pins a, and when the sliding catch'N isready to be moved back, so as to rotate the wheel L, the tumbling catchis lifted from the pin a by means ot` a pin acting on its tail on theinside of :the wheel D. f is a spring to insure the catching of the endof the lever P upon the pin a. In the positions in which the catches Nand P are shown in the drawings the catch N has just engaged with itspin and the catch P is about being lifted, so as to allow the slidingcatch N, on being retracted, to rotate the wheel L.

I will now proceed to describe the manner of forming and operating thegrippers I. One

of these grippers I have already referred to as shown on the endlessbelt in Fig. l. Two of them are seen in Fig. 2, and the end of one ofthem separately in Fig. 3, drawn on a larger scale than the formerfigures, and in a position ready to receive and be closed upon a sheet.One of these grippers is seen in a like position in Fig. 2, a part ofthe feedingboard II and one of the endless chain rollers being removedfor that purpose. As the sheet is placed on the feeding-board, it ispassed in between the upper and the lowerleavesg and h of the gripper,which leaves are hinged together. As the sheet is passed in, aclosinglever Q is brought down by a pin on the inside of the wheel D,and a piecet' on the outer end of this lever, which is bent over for theVpurpose and may be adjusted by a screw j,

bears upon the, upper leaf of the gripper and forces it down. In Fig. 2the piece t' is seen above the gripper in a position ready to be broughtdown to close it.

A latch j, Fig. 3, works on a joint-pin on the end of the upper leaf gof the grippers, and when this leaf is forced down said latch takes holdon the under side of the lower leaf and conlines the two together. Theaction of the latch is insured by means of a spring made to bear uponit. The latch is disengaged at the proper time by being made to pressagainst a piece of metal 7c, and the sheet is deposited on a table, theend of which is seen at l, Fig. 1, and is shown fully at Z Z, Fig. 2.This table, after receiving the sheet from the guide-rollers in theordinary way, is made to turn over and lay it on a pile, as in the Adamspress and some others.

Instead of moving the sliding catch N back and forth by means of the camO O, I have sometimes attached the inner end of it to a crank-pin on thewh eel D but, as in this case the motion of the sliding catch is givenby a crank, it will be continuous. It must be made of such length as topass to a considerable distance beyond the pin a, upon which it is tocatch -on its return. During the period that it is moving forward anduntil it encounters the pin on its return the wheel L will be at rest,being held in the manner already described, and the operations of inkingand of taking the impression will be performed. I however prefer themanner irst described, and represented in the drawings, of moving thisslide.

I have essayed another manner of giving motion to the endless bandswhich carry the grippers, in which Idispense with the sliding catch N,the wheel L, and their appendages, which method I have found to answerthe purpose; but from its complexity it is inferior to that herein firstdescribed, and I refer to it for the purpose of preventing its beingclaimed as an improvement by others. It is as follows: R R, Figs. l and2, is the inkin g-roller frame, which is moved up and down, as beforestated, by means of a cam on the cam-shaft. Upon the face of this frame,as seen in Fig. 2, I have sometimes placed a rack taking into a pinionon the end of the roller K, said pinion having a ratchet allowing it toturn freely on its axis in one direction in a manner well known. By thisarrangement it will be seen that the required motion may be attained.

Having thus fully described the nature of my improvements in theprinting-press, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is

The manner in which I combine, arrange, and operate the apparatus forgoverning the motion of the sheet on which an impression is to be made,said apparatus consiting of the sliding catch N, the wheels L and D, thecam O, and the catch P, these parts being arranged and operatingsubstantially as described.

J. C. KNEELAND. Witnesses:

THos. P. JoNEs, EDWIN L. BRUNDAGE.

